Follow Your Heart
by I'llbeyourhero
Summary: Emma realizes, after Hook proposes, that Regina holds her heart.


**Follow Your Heart**

The diamond ring seemed to glitter under the living room light, and it stared at Emma with yearning, or so it seemed. Green eyes stared at it and as she quietly focused on the object that represented his love, her throat felt constricted. She managed to swallow thickly and time seemed to stop moving for her as she was unsure how long Killian had been down on his knee, staring up at her.

"Emma, say something..." He pleaded. Which the blonde briefly thought was odd, Killian had never pleaded for anything in his life.

Her mouth moved and she wanted to speak but her throat was still closed up. Her mind still raced from the events of the night before.

Things had finally calmed down in Storybrooke, Zelena was trapped in the asylum with a magic cuff on her wrist, Elsa had been sent back home, the Ice Queen had no longer been a threat, Rumpelstiltskin had been banished from Storybrooke for months, and everyone seemed happy. Life had been good and the community had been celebrating someone's birthday, Emma couldn't remember who's because all she could remember was what transpired between her and Regina.

_Her attention shifted away from Hook, who was talking animatedly with his hands, about what she would never know because she tuned him out midway through his story, however Robin and David were listening intently, hanging on every word. Her eyes danced around the room and settled on Regina, who downed the rest of her alcoholic beverage, gathered herself off of the stool she was sitting on and slithered out of the door. Emma was quick to shrug Hook's arm off of her and follow the brunette. The man had been too invested in his story, to notice she had slipped away from the table. _

_"Where are you going?" Emma asked, the door to Granny's diner closed behind her._

_Regina slowly tuned to face her and started to slip her gloves on. The winter air was cold, Elsa may have brought winter with her when she arrived, in the middle of spring but after she departed, the seasons returned to normal. Months had passed, and a true Storybrooke winter had found it's way to them._

_"Home." Was her simple response. Her voice was cold and distant and Emma couldn't help but step closer to the woman she never expected to be a permanent figure in her life. A friend. _

_"The party's not over yet." _

_"I'm not in the mood for a party Miss. Swan." Light snow began to dance around them as it fell from the sky and brown eyes glanced at it for a moment. _

_"You've been distant all night, what's going on?" _

_Regina sucked in a deep breath. She knew she couldn't tell Emma what had been going on, she couldn't mention how she loved her and couldn't seem to move on from her with Robin who was suppose to be her soulmate according to pixie dust. She couldn't tell Emma that so much doubt had filled her that she approached Mother Superior and talked to her about that damn spell and found out that it could have changed, because her life had changed drastically. She cast a curse that brought her to a new realm, with new people who weren't present in the forbidden forest when Tinkerbell had cast the spell. She definitely could not tell Emma, that Mother Superior to help with Regina's confliction, offered to cast the spell again and Regina, unsure why, had said yes. Regina took a deep breath as she glanced at Emma, who was standing there staring at her with nothing but concern. Her eyes searched Emma's face and she took in a deep breath, she under no circumstances could tell Emma that she was her soulmate because the spell led them to her._

_Emma was with Hook and never felt like she needed to follow what Fate had in store for her. Regina couldn't possibly tell her, she knew she couldn't cope with the rejection. Her heart was already breaking apart, just from seeing her with Hook everyday, she couldn't bare a rejection as well. _

_"It's none of your concern..." Regina tried to back her words up with confidence but they faltered, because Emma had stepped closer and the moonlight had illuminated her face and she was radiant. _

_"Regina...I thought we got to a point where you could confide in me." _

_The Mayor took in a deep breath and when it was released it mixed with the winter air. "Emma...just drop it." _

_She turned to leave and Emma's hand had gripped her arm. She rolled her eyes and turned to face the blonde again. _

_"I mean it." She warned. Alcohol was in her system and she was unsure what she'd give away if Emma kept pushing. _

_"Go inside and be with Hook." Regina was shocked at the venom that had been released with her words. _

_Emma's eyebrows furrowed, "This is about Hook?" She had grown to know Regina quite well, and she knew when someone had gotten under her skin. _

_"I told you to drop it Miss Swan." Her voice was stern as she pulled her arm away from Emma's grip. _

_The saviour crossed her arms, and took a defiant stance and this caused Regina to sigh, she knew Emma well enough to know that she would not be dropping the subject. _

_"Ever since Killian and I started dating you hated him, and I understand your past wasn't the greatest, but you've treated him like shit since he's become a part of my life." A shiver ran up Emma's spine from the cold air. "Why?" Emma's words were loud and she was confused. Regina knew that Emma didn't understand and as she stood there and stared at the blonde before her, she wondered if maybe it was time the blonde did. _

_"Why does it matter what I think?" Regina asked, with an arch of her eyebrow. _

_Emma sighed, visibly getting irritated. "Can't you just answer my damn question!" Her voice raised and Regina's defences rose in response. _

_"Trust me, you don't want to hear my answer." Her voice was quiet but stern. She tried to avoid going to the place where her yelling derived from, because once she entered that mindset, her magic was bound to trickle out of her in anger. _

_"If I didn't want to hear it I wouldn't have asked. Why do you treat him like shit?" Emma repeated, her voice loud as it surrounded them. _

_"Because he's not good enough for you!" Regina looked into Emma's eyes and she noticed that they softened at her words. "You deserve better than him." _

_Emma stepped closer and Regina's defences began to falter, she hated that Emma had that power over her. _

_"He's the best I'm ever going to get." The words came out sadly and Regina couldn't help but reach her hand out and take Emma's ungloved hand into hers. It filled the blonde with warmth, which felt good against the winter air. _

_"Emma, you can't think like that. You should never settle, which is something I learned quite recently." Regina swallowed deeply, "No matter the consequences, you should follow your heart even if it means you'll wind up alone. It's better than being in a loveless relationship just because you feel like they're your only option. Settling never made a relationship successful." _

_Her mind flashed back to the brief relationship she and Robin had attempted. A relationship she entered because she was trying to move on from Emma and because she thought it was expected of her due to Tinkerbell's spell. It took her some time, but she realized her feelings for Emma wouldn't fade by attempting to bury them inside of another relationship, with a man who her heart could never love. _

_"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Emma's voice was soft now and her defences had faded away. _

_Regina took in a deep breath, "I tried to settle for Robin, all it did was hurt me more instead of heal what I was running away from." _

_Emma's eyebrows knitted together. "I thought you two were soulmates?" _

_Regina chuckled. "That was then, things change." Brown eyes locked onto green ones, and for a brief moment, Regina drowned. "Promise me that you'll follow your heart. If it leads you to him, that's great Emma and I'm happy for you but if it doesn't..." the brunette's words trailed off, she didn't need to finish the sentence, both women knew where she was headed. Emma stared at Regina for what felt like minutes, but it was only a short moment because Regina turned on her heel and began to walk away again. That time, Emma allowed her to go but her eyes followed her, until she was out of sight. _

_As Regina walked down the cold, quiet streets of Storybrooke she slipped her hands into her jacket pocket, because they were cold even with her gloves, and wished that she could follow her own advice and do what her heart was telling her. She wished she could tell Emma how she felt. _

The words that Regina spoke filled her mind. She glanced down at the man before her, and her heart began to race. She knew what her heart wanted, she always had since the moment she uttered "Hi" to the studious woman on that porch. She never felt like she had a chance, not with Regina, and she especially thought her chance was gone when she found out that Robin was her soulmate, but regardless the words kept echoing in her head. "Follow your heart." Emma's throat seemed to ache as she swallowed thickly and she managed to find her words.

"I-I can't marry you." The words were rough as they slipped off of her tongue, and her heart ached at the wounded look on Killian's face.

The man closed the ring box, which made a loud sound in their quiet home. He stood up, and Emma looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry." She said, and made her way to the front door.

She knew he was speaking to her, begging her to stay and asking her what was going on but she couldn't answer, she barely even registered his words. Nimble fingers grabbed her red leather jacket from the coat rack, and she slipped it on, not caring that it wasn't warm enough for the winter weather.

She stepped outside and closed the door behind her, the snow fell from the sky in spades, but it didn't detour her. Her running shoes sunk into the snow, which practically swallowed them, but her mind couldn't focus on how cold it made her feet feel. She entered a snow storm but she only had one destination in mind. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she hadn't even thought of taking her car, because she was used to walking to Regina's. They were only separated by a couple blocks.

Her feet climbed up Regina's steps and her fist, which was red and bitten by the cold, because she lacked gloves, connected with the door. It didn't take long for the door to open, revealing the girl that Emma needed and desperately wanted.

"Emma, what the hell are you doing in the middle of a snow storm!"

"Following my heart."

Regina was knocked off guard as Emma's cold lips caressed her own, but soon her lips began to work as she kissed Emma back. Their lips danced together, and the brunette quickly pulled Emma into her home, not caring about the snow that followed her inside. All she wanted in that moment, was the girl that wanted her so much, that she treaded through a snow storm to follow her heart.


End file.
